Favourite son James Hird faces a moment of truth when he makes his debut as Essendon coach on Friday night.

The Bombers have named a strong side for their NAB Cup fixture against Brisbane and St Kilda but Hird says the focus will be on whether or not the players have adapted to his style.

"A win would be great, we would love to win," Hird said on Thursday.

"We're not denying we'd love to win, but it's more about how we play than the win at this time of year."

He said the side would have to perform a delicate balancing act as it tried to impress fans.

"We want to avoid injuries, we certainly don't want any serious injuries, but we also want our supporters and members to see that the Essendon Football Club is on the way up again," Hird said ahead of his first match in charge since replacing the sacked Matthew Knights.

"We want them to be proud of what they see tomorrow night."

With the Bombers playing in the first and third games, all 36 members of their squad will get some game-time, including their top draft pick Dyson Heppell.

"It's really over to the players now to really get out and show they want to play football for Essendon," Hird said.

"I'm not nervous because I'm pretty confident the players will go out and put in a very good performance tomorrow night.

"The side's pretty fit, we don't have a lot of injuries, there are three or four players around our best side who aren't available but, other than that ...it's a good squad.

"Now we just need to see whether we can play football the way we want to play.

"We're confident that we're starting to build a game plan that can be successful."

Brisbane defender Daniel Merrett will lead a youthful Lions side out at Etihad Stadium in the absence of big three Jonathan Brown, Simon Black and Luke Power.

He said that the games would provide a priceless opportunity for the younger Lions players.

"It will be a great experience for those guys ... and hopefully they go out there and make us proud and show what the Lions are all about this year," Merrett said.

"It is a very young team but we've trained on the track all summer together and it's all about building relationships and it's a great chance to do that on Friday night."

Merrett said the side was anxious to put a difficult off-season behind it with the on-going Brendan Fevola issue and the sacking of Albert Proud.

The Saints' squad includes promising Irish rookie Tommy Walsh, as well as ex-Geelong forward Ryan Gamble and fellow draftees Sam Crocker, Tom Simpkin, Jamie Cripps, Tom Ledger and rookie-listers Warrick Andreoli and Jackson Ferguson.

Stars including Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and Sam Gilbert will not play, although the squad includes Brendon Goddard, Nick Dal Santo, Sam Fisher and Leigh Montagna.

Meanwhile, Essendon announced they had secured major backing from True Value Solar worth more than $5 million over three years.

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